Hello February 2010.

I can't believe it's almost the end of January. It's not like the month 'sped by' or anything, but it's still nice to have gotten through the first month without any big issues. I really couldn't have asked for a better 'post-transplant' month. As in most situations, the positives far outweigh any negatives. Plus, it's hard to complain when you have gotten an unbelievable opportunity to try and knock-out, or at least set-back, the MS process the way I have. Nationally, only about 25 people will be enrolled in the HALT-MS study, so I really feel very lucky.

Here are some statistics that relate specifically to Washington State - just FYI. Approximately 1 in every 700 people has MS! Hard to imagine it affects that many people, but it does. Now, think of the two most prevelent cancers affecting Washington State residents and you will find that MS diagnosis' are right in the middle of the two of them. Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 1 out of every 653 men in our state and breast cancer will affect 1 out of every 763 women (these are all 2005 statistics). I'm showing these numbers to help put the prevelence of MS in context, as many people think it's a "rare" disease. Also, when I seek out information like this it reinforces to me how grateful I am that I was afforded this gift of being able to try the stem-cell transplant. I know I keep saying how "lucky" and "grateful" I am, but I really do feel that way, and I think about it everyday.

As I mentioned earlier, the positives far outweigh the negatives since having the transplant. January has been a month that I stayed healthy (no colds, coughs, virus', infections, etc) and I have a surprising amount of energy and spring in my step. I am getting out everyday to walk, sometimes see a movie, stop by the store, and anyting else that doesn't involve big crowds or sick people. The negative is pretty obvious, being that I haven't been living with Casey, Jack, and Owen since basically mid-October. But, I see them a lot, stop by the house to say hi and get a hug, go on walks with Casey, have had a few sleepovers with the boys, pick them up at school, and talk to them often on the phone. Plus, this situation is hardly something to complain about, as my family's situation pales in comparison to the challenges many many other people face on a daily basis. If there's one thought that's in my head everyday, it's that most situations need to have a healthy dose of PERSPECTIVE applied to them.

In fact, I believe that every situation you find yourself in needs to be dipped in a giant vat of PERSPECTIVE. Then, taken out, let dry briefly (aka. mull it over), and then re-assessed. When I put me and my family's situation in that giant vat of perspective, it's clearly evident how lucky we are and how much we have to be thankful for. Once the light of perspective is shined on a situation, it may not make you instantly accepting and happy about it, but it at least let's you know that there are always many people facing either the same situation or much worse. I'm always amazed at how resilient and adaptive the human species is and how when problems, obstacles, or challenges get in our way, we just do what we can and what is needed at the time.

After getting a few emails giving me a hard time that the 'profile' on the blog was blank, I went ahead and filled it in today. This way you'll have a better idea of what music to buy and know certain important facts, like... Shawshank Redemtion is the best movie ever. Anything I can do to help.

Overall, I am feeling very well. I still go in for weekly blood work and an appointment. No problem with any of my blood counts or other lab work except that my potassium was a bit low, so I'm back on daily supplements. I continue to take most of the other medications. I have had a bit of my MS symptoms in my right arm, mostly itching and tingling. This doesn't really bother me because it's much less than I've had many other times in the past. Funny what you can get used to. They mentioned that most patients in the study have had some MS symtoms within a couple of weeks of going off of the prednisone. I started getting this arm thing about 4 or 5 days after it was tapered off. But, it's really very minor and doesn't stop me from doing anything at all. I'm walking a lot of miles and feel I am able to do it without any problems. My legs get a bit tired, but I think this is from the loss of muscle, not anything else. I really have no fatigue at all, so I'm grateful for that. I really feel like I don't have much to report on the medical front in this blog. It doesn't make for the most exciting reading, but I guess I see that as a good thing.

Here's a 'nuclear' family update. Casey is doing well. She's working on setting up what she'll be doing next year at school. It looks like she'll be able to continue doing a 'job share.' This is great as it will allow her to continue teaching part-time, as her and another teacher 'share' a classroom for the year. Jack is also doing great. Still involved in chess club and choir at school. Indoor soccer just ended and we signed him up for baseball. No more coach pitch, this year he'll see live pitching from other kids, so that will be a new challenge. Owen is also doing very well. He has had a slight cough the last few days and missed school on Wed and Thurs. I thought I would be going home tomorrow (Sun 1/31), but it may be more like mid-week just to give Owen time to get over his cold. He is a cute little guy and his spanish amazes me every time I see him. It'll be interesting to see how long I am able to live at home without getting a bug of some kind. I have three different school converging on our household through Casey, Jack and Owen. But, we'll just do the best we can - keep the house clean and wash hands well. Not much more to do than that.

Well, if your crocus' and tulips are emerging from the ground as our are doing, happy early spring! I'll check in next week. Maybe I'll have more medical things to say, but nothing too exciting I hope. Take care. Mike